IWC - Pilot's Chronograph AMG Edition

 pilot

/ˈpʌɪlət/

Noun

• A person who operates the flying controls of an aircraft.

By this definition, one would think that a pilot’s watch means a watch for the person who operates or flies an aircraft. Of course, by the same definition, a diver’s watch should be for someone who “dives”. 

However, as we all know, watches designed for a specific purpose or style no longer applies to the wearer these days. Therefore, one could say that the design philosophy could also be freed up, and no longer bound by the name of the watch. What am I getting at you ask?

Let’s have a look at the just-launched IWC Pilot’s Chronograph AMG edition. It is the first IWC Pilot’s Watch to be produced in titanium, and features racing-inspired styling cues such as the carbon fibre dial, the carbon fibre look strap and of course, the lightweight titanium case. This is not the first AMG collaboration. The very first IWC AMG watch was based on the Ingenieur (German for engineer) and it was also in titanium, with an in-house time only version as well as ETA 7750 based chronograph.

If you ask me, the Ingenieur collection is a much better fit to AMG - because their whole rasion d’être is about improving the engine and performance of Mercedes-Benz cars, and each engine is built by a single engineer whose signature is on the engine cover. So why is the latest collab a Pilot’s Watch?

Personally I think it was a mistake to have moved the design of the Ingenieur away from the Genta-esque to the vintage '50s look, especially given how popular the “non-round sports watch with integrated bracelet” theme is these days. It’s almost as if they had no choice but to stick it on the Pilot’s Watch as 1) it’s a best selling range for IWC and 2) they won’t sell any if they based it on the current Ingenieur (Yes I know they did one for the 50th anniversary of AMG back in 2017) plus 3) the vintage style isn’t a great fit for AMG with its modern, high performance values (and I stand by my opinion on this).

To be honest AMG feels like they’ve sold out and gone a little too commercial as well. Don’t get me wrong, an AMG C63 is still at the top of my car shopping list and the AMG GT is firmly in the “grail” segment but like IWC they’re sticking pretty much the same engine in everything from A class to X class (yes I know it doesn’t exist but I’m sure they would’ve if they could’ve). So in that sense there is some sort of commonality in rationale.

Back to the watch - it’s a conservative and safe approach. It’s a known quantity, has broad appeal, and almost guaranteed success. But is it appropriate? I’ll direct that question to those who wear a diver’s watch matched to a suit, where the only action the watch sees is the water from the running tap…

(Before someone points out to me that in French, a “pilote” also means driver, as in a car/racing car driver, and therefore in this sense the pilot watch works. You try explaining that to the general public, and why a German-speaking brand would use the French definition, and also Zenith tried this with their pilots range before with a forced motorbike connection. It really doesn’t work…) 

So IWC, if you’re reading this, can you please bring back the Genta style Ingenieur?